“All-Around Frustrating Level Design”
Moving on to this title from “Dark Forces II”, I was somewhat hopeful that the confusing level geometry, poor pacing, weak shooting mechanics, or lackluster plot of that game would be improved on in this expansion. Unfortunately, none of these things were improved, and in many ways they experienced decreases in quality across the board.
This title starts off with a random encounter during Kyle Katarn’s training session with another Jedi Apprentice named Mara Jade. The plot is not really established here, but I wasn’t worried about that - I wanted to see if the shooting, difficulty, or level design was reworked to be more enjoyable and provide a better game flow. Unfortunately, pretty much nothing was changed from the previous title; good for those that enjoyed it, but terrible for myself due to my heavy dislike of that game. The first level was even more convoluted than the level that made me quit “Dark Forces II”, and the shooting felt just as poor as ever. It just felt like a lazy expansion to a game that might’ve been better in its day and age, but it just hasn’t aged well at all.
This one is more of a complement to “Dark Forces II”, but that doesn’t bode well for people who disliked that title. It sticks to complacency in many ways, and doesn’t try to change the formula (which I found personally to be greatly flawed) very much. I would Not Recommend this one for those who disliked the last title. It continues the poor shooting mechanics that plague the Jedi Knight/Dark Forces games, and a huge amount of jank stands in the way of enjoying it properly.
Final Verdict: 1/10 (Terrible)
Moving on to this title from “Dark Forces II”, I was somewhat hopeful that the confusing level geometry, poor pacing, weak shooting mechanics, or lackluster plot of that game would be improved on in this expansion. Unfortunately, none of these things were improved, and in many ways they experienced decreases in quality across the board.
This title starts off with a random encounter during Kyle Katarn’s training session with another Jedi Apprentice named Mara Jade. The plot is not really established here, but I wasn’t worried about that - I wanted to see if the shooting, difficulty, or level design was reworked to be more enjoyable and provide a better game flow. Unfortunately, pretty much nothing was changed from the previous title; good for those that enjoyed it, but terrible for myself due to my heavy dislike of that game. The first level was even more convoluted than the level that made me quit “Dark Forces II”, and the shooting felt just as poor as ever. It just felt like a lazy expansion to a game that might’ve been better in its day and age, but it just hasn’t aged well at all.
This one is more of a complement to “Dark Forces II”, but that doesn’t bode well for people who disliked that title. It sticks to complacency in many ways, and doesn’t try to change the formula (which I found personally to be greatly flawed) very much. I would Not Recommend this one for those who disliked the last title. It continues the poor shooting mechanics that plague the Jedi Knight/Dark Forces games, and a huge amount of jank stands in the way of enjoying it properly.
Final Verdict: 1/10 (Terrible)